The name of the stadium is the same.The uniforms and most of the teams playing in the stadium will be the same.But LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri said the Tigers must make changes when playing in the new Alex Box Stadium.”It’s going to be an adjustment for us,” he said. “That’s why we wanted to get in here early, so our players could have some of the nuances figured out before opening day.”One of the major differences between the old Alex Box Stadium and the new Alex Box Stadium is the hitting backdrop. For the better part of spring practice, there has been no hitter’s eye in the centerfield wall of the new stadium, which leaves hitters staring into Tiger Stadium while hitting.Without a neutral-colored hitter’s eye, LSU sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu said the baseball is harder to pick up in the current backdrop.”It is a little different [to not have a hitter’s eye],” LeMahieu said. “With the stadium in the background and the sun shining on it, it’s almost white.”Mainieri said he expects a hitter’s eye to be in place prior to the season opener on Friday. LSU’s third-year coach said he expects the stadium to play as a pitcher’s park, especially early in the season while everyone gets used to the surroundings.”When you hit them good, they tend to go far,” he said. “But especially this time of the year, the ball doesn’t carry as well as when the temperatures are warmer, so I think early the pitchers will have a little bit of an advantage.” Fielders will also have to play the game differently to keep up with the new Alex Box.The infield grass in the new stadium will be kept at 1-inch up from 5/8 of an inch in the old park, which causes the ball to roll slowerLSU sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs said the increased length of the grass will benefit speedy hitters who will now get more infield hits. He said the grass will hurt slower, power hitters who will not be able to muscle the ball through the infield as easily.”I hit one on a rope that would have been a single [in the old stadium], but the grass chewed it up, and DJ [LeMahieu] was able to make a play and throw me out,” he said. “I am not the fastest guy anyway, so I will have to put the ball in the air.”Gibbs will also have to adjust to the shadows in the new Alex Box Stadium.The new stadium has a large structure that covers the fans behind home plate. Gibbs said in games later in the season when the sun is positioned in the left-field portion of the sky, the shadows will be the most difficult to deal with.”As the season goes, the sun is going to move down towards left field,” he said. “It’s going to cause more [shadows], because there will be nothing there to block it.”In the outfield, the fences have been lifted from eight feet to 10 feet, and the walls have been padded to protect players. Mainieri said the extra two feet will turn many balls that used to be home runs into doubles or triples.”There will be about 10 a year now that won’t get out,” Mainieri said. “I am just anxious to see Leon Landry and Jared Mitchell leap up and take some of those away.”Another adjustment players will have to make is in right field, where there is no longer an Intimidator sign — something Mainieri said is disappointing to left-handed hitters.”They will be upset because they don’t have that big sign to use as target practice anymore,” he said.But despite his team’s new facilities, Mainieri said the key to building new tradition in the new Alex Box Stadium is simple.”Stadiums don’t win games,” he said. “Playing good, sound baseball wins games. That is what we’re going to try to do to make this stadium as memorable as the one before it.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]